PANAJI
The vast majority of Congressman failed to pay heed to the call of Congress national president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to observe November 8 as ‘Black Day' to mark the first anniversary of demonetisation. The protest march organised by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) in Panaji on Wednesday experienced a low turnout of 100 to 150-odd Congress workers. Members of Mahila Congress constituted a large chunk of the protestors.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi had given directions to all Congressmen all over the country to observe November 8 as a ‘Black Day' in protest against Goods and Service Tax regime and demonetization. The entire affair lasted barely an hour. The protest march began at Congress House, towards the Panaji police, around Hotel Fidalgo, across the 18th June Road, Cafe Araam and back. The placards held up by the protestors labelled the GST as "Gabbar Singh Tax" and blamed demonetisation for unemployment and deaths of a 1,000-odd people while they stood in ATM lines to withdraw their own money.
While the turnout of Congress workers was at an all-time low, only eight of the 16 Congress MLAs participated in the march around the capital city. These included Leader of Opposition Chandrakant "Babu" Kavalekar, former Chief Minister and Ponda MLA Ravi Naik, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias, Nuvem MLA Wilfred D'Sa, Velim MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues, St Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes and St Andre MLA Franscisco Silveira.
Addressing the gathering of 100-odd protestors, Ponda MLA Ravi Naik stated, "There is no internet, electricity, roads, transport, banks. The government should make policies such as demonetization only when the literacy touches 100 per cent and when all the basic issues are resolved."
Leader of Opposition Kavalekar questioned the benefits of the "surgical strike on Indian economy". "Demonetisation was a wrong, unplanned and hurried decision," he commented.
GPCC president Shantaram Naik termed the policy of demonetization as "illegal". "Central Board of Reserve Bank of India has the power to make such a recommendation. But the Board was kept on dark and central government declared the policy of demonetization on its own. This was an illegal decision," he said adding that unemployment has shown a sharp rise owing to the failure of demonetization.
Naik also sought to defend the GST bill conceived by the former UPA government stating that the tax rates notified in the new Act were not drawn up by the Congress regime and that these high rates are purely the BJP's decision.
